DDC-11-13-2013

Page 1

75 cents

Breaking news at Daily-Chronicle.com

Serving DeKalb County since 1879

W y, November Nove 013 Wednesday, 13, 2013

HOLIDAY MEALS • FOOD, C1

NIU FOOTBALL WRAP

Save time with a no-cook Thanksgiving

Get your Mathew Sims poster inside Mathe

Assessment appeals window opens SENIOR

w Sim s KICKER

Owners have 30 days to challenge property values starting today By DEBBIE BEHRENDS dbehrends@shawmedia.com SYCAMORE – The 30-day clock to challenge DeKalb County property assessments starts today for most property owners. Assessed values, which are used to calculate individual property tax bills, are published

in today’s Daily Chronicle for 17 of the county’s 19 townships; Sycamore and Sandwich assessments were published in September. Property owners have 30 days from the publication date to appeal the assessed property value if they think it is unfair. DeKalb County’s chief asses-

sor, Robin Brunschon, said that the assessments published are those that have changed. “There are a lot of reasons for a change in assessment,” Brunschon said. “Maybe a vacant lot now has a building on it, maybe a large lot has been split into two, maybe their assessor has reviewed an area.”

To determine if their assessment is accurate, Brunschon urged property owners to contact their township assessor first. The assessor will explain how he or she arrived at the assessment, and can show property owners similar properties in their neighborhood. “Your assessor’s name will be

NEW SECURITY LEADER ON CAMPUS

Correlating fear and reality

listed in the paper and they are on the county website,” Brunschon said. “Property owners can always come in or call us. If you’ve tried to contact your assessor and can’t reach them, call us and we’ll help you.” She also recommended that

See ASSESSMENTS, page A6

By FELIX SARVER

Monica Maschak – mmaschak@shawmedia.com

NIU police chief considers community’s perception of crime By JILLIAN DUCHNOWSKI jduchnowski@shawmedia.com DeKALB – In his first two months as Northern Illinois University’s police chief, Thomas Phillips has noticed some residents’ perception of crime outweighs reality. When he meets with students and other groups, he tries to reassure them that the DeKalb area is a safe place and local police can work with them to reduce the fear of crime. Phillips worked at the University of Illinois at Chicago on the city’s west side and the University of Chicago on the south side before he joined NIU on Sept. 16.

Illinois university crime statistics for 2012 University U of I UIC NIU ISU SIU-Carbondale Loyola University Western Illinois

Enrollment Violent Forcible Robbery* Aggravated crime* rape* assault* 44,407 28,091 22,990 21,310 19,817 16,040 12,554

12 15 14 18 26 14 12

3 2 5 1 6 9 16

6 9 2 2 12 14 0

3 4 7 13 8 0 3

*number of incidents reported

Source: FBI’s Uniform Crime Report “There’s always going to be a concern over crime, but there’s a significant difference between a fear of crime and

actual crime,” Phillips said. “Having lived in Chicago for the last two decades, there’s definitely a higher crime rate

out there and a higher probability of being victimized by crime out there. So I noticed coming out here that the fear of crime doesn’t correlate with the actual crime rate.” In the past several weeks, Phillips has been assessing the police force and the community so he can suggest ways to improve the department. He’s also built upon NIU leaders’ commitment to building partnerships with other local police departments. He hopes to bring more community policing programs that would reduce crime by trying to solve community problems.

See POLICE CHIEF, page A6

DeKALB – Rey Ty is still trying to find out if his family members in the Philippines are alive and well after a typhoon hit the island country Friday and left thousands of people dead and thousands of survivors displaced. Ty, who works as a training coordinator for Northern Illinois University’s International Training Office, said he’s been contacting relatives outside of Leyte island, which was hit hard by Typhoon Haiyan. He said he’s also been scouring Facebook for tips and skimming through the websites from several organizations involved in the disaster relief. “I’m on my toes every moment trying to find out where my relatives are at,” he said. For now, Ty said it’s hard for him to begin to feel anything about a typhoon because he doesn’t know what’s become of his family in Leyte, an estimated 30 relatives who are from his mother’s side.

A2 A3-4 A4

Announcing: DeKalb’s ONLY

FAIR TRADE STORE

National and world news Opinions Sports

“I’m on my toes every moment trying to find out where my relatives are at.” Rey Ty Training coordinator for Northern Illinois University’s International Training Office

See TYPHOON, page A6

Monica Maschak – mmaschak@shawmedia.com

Training coordinator Rey Ty, with Northern Illinois University’s International Training Office, holds a map Tuesday of the Philippines, where he has relatives he has been unable to contact in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan.

Inside today’s Daily Chronicle Lottery Local news Obituaries

Have you ever protested your property assessment? Vote online at Daily-Chronicle.com.

Locals worry, search for family in wake of typhoon fsarver@shawmedia.com

Northern Illinois University’s new Chief of Police Thomas Phillips began the job in September.

Voice your opinion

Weather A2, A5-6 A7 B1-4

Advice Comics Classified

C5 C6 C7-8

High:

38

Low:

28

Holiday Open House Fri., Nov 15 and Sat., Nov. 16 from 9-5

Fri., Nov. 15th and Sat, Nov. 16th 917 West Lincoln Highway, DeKalb 815.758.4455

AREA EXCLUSIVE HOLIDAY GIFTS POINSETTIAS • CENTERPIECES • GIFTS CUSTOM ARRANGEMENTS MISTLE TOE Come In or Order Today! 917 WEST LINCOLN HIGHWAY 815-758-4455 www.GLIDDEN-FLORIST.com


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.